gher levels, was delightfully
refreshing after the heat of the day. He took off his hat and opened the
neck of his shirt to the breeze, which revived his energies like wine.
He knew that as he felt, so his horse felt, and he was glad, for the
animal would have to make a fast, hard trip. At the crest of the first
hills, before dipping into the valley, he turned for an instant in his
saddle to look backward over his trail toward the twinkling lights of
Crawling Water in the distance below.

He had covered some five miles of his journey, to no other sound than
the occasional note of some bird, when his quick ears caught the thud of
a horse's feet on the trail ahead, with now and then a sharp clatter as
the animal slipped on the stones. Wade slowed his own horse down to a
walk, and eased his Colt in its holster. He expected to meet some
harmless wayfarer, but, under the circumstances, it was just as well to
be prepared for trouble. Soon, however, he smiled to himself, for
whoever rode toward him made too much noise for any but a peaceful
mission. The other horse, too, had been slowed down and the two riders
approached each other with such caution that the rancher finally became
impatient and pressed forward recklessly.

Out of the night the stranger came on, still slowly, until a turn in the
trail brought them face to face.

"Don't shoot!" said a woman's contralto. "I'm a friend."

"Dorothy!" Wade ejaculated, at once recognizing the voice, although he
could not see the girl distinctly in the darkness. "In Heaven's name,
what are you doing out here?"

"Is it you, Gordon?" In her relief, she laughed softly as she pulled her
pony up side of him. "I was a little scared for a second or two. I've
awfully bad news, I'm afraid," she added, immediately serious. "I've
been trying to find you. I went to the hotel and they told me you'd gone
somewhere."

"Miss Rexhill and I went to call on you."

"You did? If I'd only known. I've been clear out to the ranch."

"Is Santry there?" In his anxiety he forgot momentarily the loneliness
of her long ride. "They say some of Jensen's men have been shot up; and
I'm anxious to find out what Bill knows."

"That's just what I want to tell you. I heard of the shooting before I
left town. Whoa, Gypsy!" She reined up her pony, nervously, for it would
not stand still. Wade seized the animal's bridle and quieted it. "I
don't know if he's there or not," the girl went on. "I couldn't see. The
ra